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WORKING BREAKFAST: EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer and T&I Chairman Bill Shuster sat down for a breakfast last week to share agendas and set a bipartisan tone for the 113th. The main course was a discussion on how to solve the puzzle of transportation funding. Boxer told MT that her breakfast confirmed “everything’s on the table, which is good.” She and Shuster “think there’s a way to do it where we can get rid of the gas tax, maybe keep it for big trucks … and transfer it to a different tax that is a user fee that will really reach people like me, who drive cars that are plug-in hybrid,” she said. So does that mean something distance-based? “That could be part of it. Or there could be another user fee. There’s lot of ideas.” Indeed!

SENATE PASSES SANDY AID: Obama will be getting the Sandy aid package on his desk any day now after Congress approved a spending package designed to help victims of Hurricane Sandy and rebuild damaged infrastructure. The bill barely got the 60 votes needed, passing on a 62-36 tally. This morning marks the three-month anniversary of the storm hitting the New Jersey coast, and after months of back and forth between the two chambers, the House adjourning the 112th Congress without acting, splitting the bill into two parts and a very angry Chris Christie, the legislation made it through Congress. The $50.5 billion package also includes the FEMA reforms and streamlining provisions that were part of a separate measure (H.R. 219; text: http://1.usa.gov/Wnvqio) that cleared the House several weeks ago. The president is expected to sign it but one wrinkle remains: The money is not exempted from the sequester’s automatic cuts, which could cost the Northeast $2.5 billion. David Rogers has the overview: http://politi.co/VN1Mla

BOEING HEARING STILL SIMMERING: Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller told MT that his panel “probably will” still hold some sort of hearing on the battery fires, grounding and subsequent FAA investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Rockefeller said he was briefed on the investigation in the past few days by FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman. He said he wants to give them a bit more time to look into how the high-profile incidents occurred before dragging officials before the Senate panel, but said a hearing would likely come before the FAA probe is concluded. “I want to see how they’re coming,” Rockefeller said. “We probably still will, but I want to wait a little bit. Just nothing set right now.” His ranking member on the committee said the idea to have a congressional hearing is still simmering. “It was sort of batted around a little bit in public. But I don’t think the chairman has made any final decisions,” Sen. John Thune said. Burgess has the rest: http://politico.pro/T2Puqi

OLD DOMINION TRANSPO BATTLE: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration has been quite active in selling the merits of his transportation plan that aims to raise $3.1 billion over five years by replacing the gas tax with a higher sales tax and several other fees for transport projects. The latest is a VDOT-commissioned study that finds ending the gas tax would mean Virginians would save 16.6 cents on each gallon of gas. Shifting from the stagnant gas tax to a sales tax would mean “more revenue for transportation in the future” — about 20 percent based on current figures, according to the study by Chmura Economics and Analytics. And here’s a finding sure to make Grover Norquist cringe: The study says the governor’s plan is “essentially revenue neutral” in its first year. Read the full 12-page study: http://1.usa.gov/VjjLhu

Dems not totally sold: Virginia House Minority Leader David Toscano said his party agrees that more money is needed — and wants parts of McDonnell’s plan included in a compromise — but thinks $1 billion a year would be better than $3.1 billion over five years. WaPo has more: http://wapo.st/XGEviO

VITTER 2.0: Sen. David Vitter has weathered a number of storms — both literally and figuratively — in his time in the Senate. A new Louisiana super PAC is leading to increased speculation that he’ll run for governor in 2015. But in the meantime, he’s still the top Republican on the Senate EPW Committee that controls the bulk of the surface transportation bill. He plans to use that post to push for changes to the Army Corps of Engineers — even if his constituents don’t know what exactly a “ranking member” is. “Most people don’t know what a ranking member is and don’t care, so it’s inside baseball,” Vitter told Scott recently. “But to the extent they focus on it, yes, I think they would see a benefit.” There’s much more from Scott and Patrick Reis: http://politi.co/YAk11L

ORGANIZED CONFUSION: Thune told MT that the Commerce Committee will be “meeting this week” to work on organizing but that there aren’t formal designations yet for his ranking members or the Democratic chairman for the panel and its strong transportation focus. “They haven’t given us what the subcommittees are yet. We’re doing that kind of informally,” he said on setting up a committee structure.

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HIGHWAY TO THE DANGER ZONE: Today ACI-NA is putting out a “capital needs” report that will show that Texas, California and Florida need the most help at their airports. The study will also highlight eight airports that have more than $1.5 billion in capital improvements over the next four years. Stay tuned for more.

START A BANDWIDTH, DUDE: There’s a brawl going on in Washington over just who will make it possible to watch the Super Bowl at 30,000 feet, our old friend Jessica Meyers reports. The FCC agreed last month to streamline regulations for satellite-based systems, a next frontier in broadband development. But ground-based companies with plans for further advancements want a slice of the shrinking spectrum pie, too. For Pros: http://politi.co/125GJQb

DON’T PLAY ON THE TRACKS: MT readers probably are aware that the U.S. doesn’t have 200 mph trains yet, despite putting billions into nationwide rail improvements. CNN sent a reporter up to Vermont to break the news that, no, the Vermonter is not high speed, despite receiving millions from the feds. But in doing so, CNN drew the attention of Operation Lifesaver’s Joyce Rose, who emailed reporter Drew Griffin on Monday. “The shots of you standing between the rails and walking down the tracks might give your viewers the impression that it's okay for them to do the same. ... Nothing could be further from the truth — in fact, more people are killed each year trespassing on train tracks than in vehicle-train collisions at crossings,” Rose wrote to Griffin yesterday afternoon. “Your story noted that you'll be looking at the use of government funds for passenger train service in other states. We urge you to avoid trespassing on the tracks while pursuing this story.” The CNN segment: http://bit.ly/14pcUJ9

MT POLL — Help us help you: Our excellent transport team — Adam, Burgess, Kathryn and Scott — bring you a lot of news each and every day. But what do you want to see more of? Should we devote more coverage to a certain mode (transit, roads, aviation) or take a longer look at some pressing but not necessarily newsy issues (Highway Trust Fund woes, congressional attitudes about transportation)? Please suggest your own ideas at our poll that closes Sunday at noon: http://bit.ly/XKA5bn

THE COUNTDOWN: The new sequestration deadline is in 31 days and DOT funding runs out in 58 days. Passenger rail policy runs out in 245 days, surface transportation policy in 613 days and FAA policy in 975 days. The mid-term elections are in 644 days.

CABOOSE — Stan the Man: One of Adam’s favorite childhood baseball memories was being camped outside the Hall of Fame, jealous that his little sibling was inside meeting a bunch of baseball legends after winning a special lottery on induction day, when Stan “The Man” Musial and his handler left the building, passing out signed postcards to all the children who couldn’t get inside. Musial passed away recently, but a group of House lawmakers wants to make sure his name lives on — in bipartisan bridge form. Reps. Rodney Davis, John Shimkus, Ann Wagner and Dan Lipinski have introduced a bill (H.R. 420) to name the new Interstate Route 70 bridge over the Mississippi River connecting St. Louis and southwestern Illinois the “Stan Musial Memorial Bridge.” It’s been referred to the T&I Committee. http://bit.ly/123ZcwG

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